Lemony Garlic Ginger Soba Bowls

I was going to call these “feel-better soba bowls” or something like that but honestly I love stuff like this all the time.

Interestingly, I made these for Jay last week when he had the flu and he decided he didn’t like them AT ALL. Because they were too lemony. So, they didn’t make anyone feel better because I felt fine. We laughed that I tried this and was like “mmmmmmm so lemony!!!” and he was like “hmmmm. lemony.” Same concept, different perspective.

My point is this: These are Asian-style bowls with a garlic/ginger/lemon broth. If you don’t like those things this might not be for you. But if you do….heaven. The other benefit here is that we add zero fat to the dish but get huge flavor from the broth, veg from the…veg, and great texture from the soba, which is a hugely underrated noodle in my opinion. It has such a great toothy texture that almost takes the place of meat. Almost.

I used a chicken broth here because I like the flavor, but this would be fully vegan (soba is vegan, yes? no clue.) if you used vegetable broth!

First, add the stock with some water (equal parts) to a big soup pot. Turn the heat to medium and add the garlic, ginger, soy sauce, and sriracha.

While the stock is coming to a boil, cook the soba according to the package and drain it. Rinse it well with cold water so it doesn’t become a sticky mess – we keep the soba and stock separate so the noodles don’t get mushy.

Bring the mixture to a boil and add the kale. Let the kale cook in the broth for about 5 minutes to soften it.

Lastly, add the mushrooms and lemon slices. Let them cook for 5 minutes or so to flavor the broth, then we serve! Taste the broth to see if you’d like to add any more soy sauce for salt and flavor – how much you need depends largely on how salty your broth is.

Noodles in bowl.

Broth and veggies to fill up the bowl.

Top with scallions and spicy stuff.

Boom. Done. Flu fixed! The only important note here is to take the lemon slices OUT of the soup after about 10 minutes, maybe sooner. The rind will make the whole thing bitter after awhile, and that’s way worse than something being too lemony, if there is even such a thing (jay’s like, yes, there is). Store the noodles and broth separately and make bowls of happy healthy goodness whenever you need them.

Add the water, stock, garlic, ginger, sriracha, and soy sauce to a large soup pot. Turn the medium or medium-high heat and bring to a simmer.

Add the kale and let simmer for 5 minutes until soft, then add the lemon slices and mushrooms. Cook for 5 minutes more and taste the stock; add more soy sauce or sriracha if you'd like. Remove the lemon slices from the broth after 5 or 10 minutes and discard.

To serve, place a serving of soba noodles in the bottom of a bowl and top with the broth and vegetables. Sprinkle with scallions and eat!